The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday approved the post-arrest bail of PTI Senator Azam Swati, who has been in detention since late November over his controversial tweets about senior military officers.
Swati was arrested on November 27 after the FIA booked him in Islamabad over a “highly obnoxious campaign of intimidating tweets […] against state institutions”. It was the second time that Swati was booked and arrested by the FIA over his tweets about army officials in less than two months.
Earlier this month, the senator approached a special court in Islamabad for bail. However, Special Judge Central Azam Khan dismissed the plea ruling that he had “committed the same offence twice”.
Subsequently, Swati filed a post-arrest bail petition through his lawyer Babar Awan in the IHC, challenging the special court’s orders.
At the previous hearing, the IHC — after taking up the petition — issued notices to the state and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
During the hearing today, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq resumed hearing the PTI senator’s petition and barred the FIA from arresting him. The court approved Swati’s bail against the submission of surety bonds worth Rs200,000.
